20 May 2013

I remember watching an advert in recent months that featured Kiefer Sutherland, some explosives, and cupcakes. It sounds like a light moment in 24, however, it wasn’t. It was in fact a YouTube advert (commercial if you’re American) that showed off Sutherland’s comical macho baking style alongside an Acer laptop that I can’t actually remember the model of.

Why did I bring this up now? Well after reading a naff inspirational article explaining that business card ideas are everywhere I decided to find the most obscure inspiration I could find for a business logo - enter the most memorable part of this video.

Check out how Sutherland gets his logo inspiration when rebranding this nerdy kid’s cupcake business:

The explosion of a 4x4 is definitely one of the most random and arduous ways to get some inspiration for a logo that I’ve seen in my time, however, it just goes to show that design inspiration in general is everywhere.

29 April 2013

The three pointed star has become a well-known symbol, a visual representation of the embodiment of class that all Mercedes vehicles ooze. But where did it come from?

The three points initially stood for the three methods of travel. That is land, sea and air. Upon the Daimler and Benz merger the three pointed star became encompassed in a circle, and the Mercedes-Benz logo as we know it today was born.

The colour silver also has a strong tie to the Mercedes brand. This dates back to 1934 in Nurburgring, when Mercedes entered their first grand prix. The vehicle was just a little over the weight limit so the Mercedes engineers spent the night sanding off the paint and stripping the car back to its original colour. This car went on to be better known as “The Silver Arrow”.

The beginnings of the Mercedes-Benz company was formed back in 1926, although the origins can be traced right back to 1886 and Karl Benz patent Motorwagen.

Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach formed the company after merging with Benz & Cie. The name Mercedes was chosen after one of Maybachs daughters.

23 April 2013

When searching for the origins of BMW's logo you will no doubt come across the common myth that it was based on the propellers/ air screws of their aircraft (the white part of the logo) cutting through the sky (the blue part of the logo).

We say myth because since this presumption, which originated from a 1929 BMW aircraft magazine that illustrated two planes with the logo placed in the centre of their propellers, BMW recorded and published the following video to explain the actual origins of its logo:

So the first documented instance of the logo was actually in BMW's archives dated 1918 - way before the magazine was printed and was not based on propeller blades cutting through the sky.

Instead the BMW logo was actually based on the RAPP's original logo (the aircraft manufacturing company that eventually became BMW) alongside the national blue and white colours of Bavaria. When you see the two logos side by side you can identify the similarities in letter spacing and design.

Now if someone talks to you about the origins of BMW's logo and how it was based on the 1929 publication you can correct them. To add extra trivia you can also tell them it didn't first appear on a road vehicle until 1923 on BMW's R32.

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